Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, September 9, 2012
Before we turn our complete attention to Week 3, it's time to look back at how we did with our Week 2 predictions. One week after Tom Dienhart, BTN.com fans and myself all went 11-1, the results weren't as pretty. Dienhart and BTN.com fans both went 8-4, while I went 6-6, just like the Big Ten teams.
SEASON RECORDS
BTN.com fans: 19-5; .792
Tom: 19-5; .792
Brent: 17-7; .708
[Related: Dienhart: 5 things I learned in Week 2]
Arizona State 45, Illinois 14
Tom's pick: Arizona State, 27-21 – Even if Nathan Scheelhaase can go, he likely won?t be 100 percent. And that won?t be enough to win a road game like this.
Brent's pick: Illinois, 23-20 – Nathan Scheelhaase or not, the Illinois defense has what it takes to match up against Todd Graham's offense.
Indiana 45, Massachusetts 6
Tom's pick: Indiana, 31-24 – The Hoosiers ground game will come to life, which will make the passing game that much better. Indiana? 2-0? Believe it.
Brent's pick: Indiana, 34-23 – Tre Roberson will be even better this week with WR Kofi Hughes back from a one-game suspension.
Iowa State 9, Iowa 6
Tom's pick: Iowa, 35-33 – There were a combined 85 points scored when these two met last year. It won?t be that high-scoring this time, but the last team with the ball will win.
Brent's pick: Iowa, 31-27 – Expect the Iowa offensive line to figure things out and give James Vandenberg time to throw the ball.
Michigan 31, Air Force 25
Tom's pick: Michigan, 38-24 – The Wolverine offense will be able to impose its will on an undersized Falcon defense. The result? Big numbers for Denard Robinson, as Fitz Toussaint is eased back into the lineup. Welcome back to the Heisman race, Denard.
Brent's pick: Michigan, 41-20 – After allowing a touchdown on Air Force's first possession, the Wolverines figure out the Falcons' triple option offense.
Michigan State 41, Central Michigan 7
Tom's pick: Michigan State, 41-7 – After a lethargic offensive effort in the opener vs. Boise State, the Spartans want to send a message. Message sent.
Brent's pick: Michigan State, 37-3 – Andrew Maxwell and the receivers connect early and often, and the defense keeps its second straight foe out of the end zone.
Minnesota 44, New Hampshire 7
Tom's pick: Minnesota, 44-20 – After sweating out a triple-overtime win at UNLV in the opener, the Golden Gophers will get a chance to play the reserves.
Brent's pick: Minnesota, 38-23 – MarQueis Gray hits the open targets with more regularity this week and tosses three scoring strikes.
[Related: Who took home Brent Yarina's Week 2 Game Balls?]
UCLA 36, Nebraska 30
Tom's pick: Nebraska, 30-21 – Taylor Martinez will enjoy another strong game in his return to southern California, throwing for over 300 yards once again.
Brent's pick: Nebraska, 32-24 – It's a homecoming for Taylor Martinez, and the Nebraska QB will show off his arm and legs in a big road win.
Northwestern 23, Vanderbilt 13
Tom's pick: Vanderbilt, 31-23 – The Commodores don?t have a great defense, but it will be a step up from the leaky Syracuse unit the Wildcats faced last week.
Brent's pick: Vanderbilt, 39-34 – Its second shootout in as many weeks, Northwestern is unable to pull out this one on its final possession.
[Related: Big Ten teams debut new looks in Week 2]
Ohio State 31, Central Florida 16
Tom's pick: Ohio State, 29-13 – The Golden Knights will have one of the more athletic defenses the Buckeyes will face all season. A nice test for Ohio State?s new spread scheme.
Brent's pick: Ohio State, 34-7 – Braxton Miller outgains Central Florida, thanks to Ohio State's defense stifling another opponent.
Virginia 17, Penn State 16
Tom's pick: Virginia, 33-7 – The offense will struggle to move the ball, putting too much pressure on the defense. It?s a storyline we will see often this season for the Nittany Lions.
Brent's pick: Virginia, 28-13 – In a similar game as last week, Penn State's defense can only keep the team in it for so long.
Notre Dame 20, Purdue 17
Tom's pick: Notre Dame, 40-14 – Yes, the Boilermakers are better. But the offense is turnover-prone and will struggle to score vs. an improved Irish defense. And expect one Irish special teams score.
Brent's pick: Purdue, 23-21 – A few things here: Purdue's defense is legit; Notre Dame is coming from Ireland; and the Irish have games against rivals Michigan State and Michigan the next two weeks.
Oregon State 10, Wisconsin 7
Tom's pick: Wisconsin, 33-14 – The Badgers got the kinks worked out last week and will look much better vs. a Beavers team that is playing its first game.
Brent's pick: Wisconsin, 43-24 – After a lackluster performance by his very high standards, Montee Ball will visit the end zone at least three times.
[Related: Badgers plummet in latest Big Ten Power Rankings]
BTN.com web editor Brent Yarina covers football and men's basketball for BTN.com. He writes the popular uniform feature "Clothes Call," which also focuses on the latest cosmetic changes across Big Ten arenas and stadiums. Read all of his work here. You can subscribe to Yarina's RSS feed and follow him on Twitter @BTNBrentYarina. |